In looking at the James Stukel Towers, the spiffy University of Illinois at Chicago dorms near the corner of Halsted and Rochford, it is hard to imagine that it used to be the site of the dilapidated training academy of the Chicago Police Department. From 1960 to 1976, police recruits trained in a decrepit school building built in 1857, a stone’s throw from the Maxwell Street Market. One of the manuals from the academy, Penitentiary & Underworld Argot, captures the spirit of Maxwell Street. The 1967 dictionary is questionable, weird, hilarious, infuriating, and enlightening.
Why a Chicago cop would need to know that a rod, a gat, a biscuit, a torch, a stick, a cannon, a roscoe, and a heater were all slang words for handguns is clear. Why a Chicago cop would need to know that beagles, cackleberries, snails, stinkers, and red lead were synonyms for sausages, eggs, cinnamon rolls, onions, and catsup is something of a mystery. It is easy to see how other entries could confuse outsiders. Barbering is to have a conversation. Cheaters could mean eyeglasses or marked cards or dice. The word clout as a noun means influence, but the verb to clout means to steal or to strike.
C) A successful robbery
Glom
A) A locksmith B) A nickel
